An ammonia spill from a jack-knifed truck can be better contained if meteorologists can tell emergency responders how the fumes will disperse. The same can be said for a bio-terrorism threat.

Alan Czarnetzki, director of the UNI Science center for Teaching, Outreach and Research on Meteorology (STORM), explains that weather patterns greatly affect how vapors of any kind will disperse in the air.

Czarnetzki is developing materials for meteorologists, showing them how to assist in the event of a large-scale atmospheric release.

A training session conducted by Czarnetzki on Tuesday, July 2, will be taped and made available as part of the newly developed materials. The training begins at 9:30 a.m. in UNI's Latham Hall Room 208.

'Since Sept. 11, there?s a real strong interest in the kind of information that we provide,' he said. 'Having this kind of information will prove extremely valuable in battling any kind of airborne threat.'